Is it possible to keep editing the same line when I execute code with !%?

Question

Let's say I have a file with the following bash code:

echo "line 1"
echo "line 2"
echo "line 3"
echo "line 4"
echo "line 5"
echo "line 6"
echo "line 7"
echo "line 8"
echo "line 9"
echo "line 10"
echo "line 11"
echo "line 12"
echo "line 13"
echo "line 14"
echo "line 15"

Let's also say that I'm editing the line 11, if I use the command :!% bash I'll execute this file and its output will substitute the current file that I'm editing. So I can use Vim for navigating on its output and then I can press u for going back to what the code file was originally...

So far everything is fine, except for the fact that when I press u it sends the cursor back to line 1. I know I can set a marker on the line that I'm editing before executing it, something like ma and then 'a or `a to go back to the line that I was... But that becomes troublesome doing it all the time...

I also know that I could execute the file with :set makeprg=bash\ % | make while seeing its output on the terminal, but in this way, I won't be able to navigate on the output with the Vim editor, and that's a functionality I'd like to keep... Is there any way of executing a file from inside Vim, see its output and edit it with Vim, while also being able to go back to the original code on the same line that I was?

Answer 1

One way to run the command and leave the file intact is :terminal, like in :terminal bash %. Vim will split a terminal running the program and leave you editing the file. It’s also asynchronous in the sense that you can edit while the program runs.